sex traffickinghttp://kuow.org
enSeaTac, Kids, Sex And Coercion: 'The Long Night' Moviehttp://kuow.org/post/seatac-kids-sex-and-coercion-long-night-movie
<p></p><p>“<a href="http://www.thelongnightmovie.com/">The Long Night</a>,” a documentary about child sex trafficking in the Seattle area, is being released online Monday. Sara Lerner speaks with filmmaker Tim Matsui, who says he believes exploiting minors in this way is a symptom of underlying causes.</p><p>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 20:05:02 +0000Sara Lerner45677 at http://kuow.orgSeaTac, Kids, Sex And Coercion: 'The Long Night' MovieWhat Are The Implications Of King County's New Plan To Target Sex Buyers?http://kuow.org/post/what-are-implications-king-countys-new-plan-target-sex-buyers
<p>Ross Reynolds talks with <a href="http://www.urban.org/bio/MeredithDank.html">Meredith Dank</a>, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, about a new King County law enforcement initiative that cracks down on sex buyers.</p><p>Fri, 07 Nov 2014 22:42:51 +0000Ross Reynolds & Andy Hurst44048 at http://kuow.orgWhat Are The Implications Of King County's New Plan To Target Sex Buyers?Study: Spending On Sex Trade Way Up In Seattlehttp://kuow.org/post/study-spending-sex-trade-way-seattle
<p>A new study finds spending on the underground sex trade in Seattle has gone way up. Of the cities studied, Seattle is one of only two where spending increased, and it’s not pennies: $50 million in 2003 to $112 million in 2007.Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:00:00 +0000Sara Lerner30420 at http://kuow.orgStudy: Spending On Sex Trade Way Up In SeattleWashington Legislature Passes Bill To Allow Human Trafficking Victims To Clear Recordhttp://kuow.org/post/washington-legislature-passes-bill-allow-human-trafficking-victims-clear-record
<p>A new human trafficking bill passed the state Legislature Monday that will allow victims who were forced into prostitution to clear their records of prostitution charges.</p><p>Removing one conviction has already been the law for a couple years. But now, a victim is able to get more than one charge vacated.Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:32:11 +0000Sara Lerner30363 at http://kuow.orgWashington Legislature Passes Bill To Allow Human Trafficking Victims To Clear RecordMoving Past 'The Life': New Bill Would Allow Erasing Prostitution Convictions From Recordhttp://kuow.org/post/moving-past-life-new-bill-would-allow-erasing-prostitution-convictions-record
<p>Those caught up in it call it "the life." It usually involves a pimp, coercion and prostitution.</p><p>For young victims of sex trafficking, getting out of that life and building a new one can be a monumental task. Having a rap sheet for prostitution makes it&nbsp; incredibly difficult to apply for jobs, or housing, or school — the things it takes to start over.Wed, 12 Feb 2014 17:31:51 +0000Sara Lerner28543 at http://kuow.orgMoving Past 'The Life': New Bill Would Allow Erasing Prostitution Convictions From RecordIn The Shadow Of The Stadium: Sex Traffickers Target The Super Bowlhttp://kuow.org/post/shadow-stadium-sex-traffickers-target-super-bowl
<p>Steve Scher speaks with Elie Honig, New Jersey's director of the Division of Criminal Justice, about his team's efforts to combat prostitution and sex-trafficking in advance of the Super Bowl.Fri, 31 Jan 2014 23:24:37 +0000Steve Scher & Posey Gruener28003 at http://kuow.orgJack Hitt, W.S. Merwin And Life As An Underage Prostitutehttp://kuow.org/post/jack-hitt-ws-merwin-and-life-underage-prostitute
<p><strong>Jack Hitt On Making Up The Truth</strong></p><p></p><p>Writer and storyteller Jack Hitt has made a career portraying the larger-than-life characters he's encountered: a flamboyant neighbor who made international news as one of the world's first transsexuals, a building superintendent who was also a Brazilian mobster. "Why do these things always happen to you?" people ask. They don't, he says. Unbelievable stories happen to everybody. His new solo show mingles these stories with scientific research to show how our story-generating brains are constantly editing reality and "making up the truth" for us. Steve Scher talked with Jack Hitt in 2009.</p><p><strong>The Art Of Poetry With W.S. Merwin</strong></p><p></p><p>Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin is best known for his writing about the Vietnam War. Merwin has written and published poetry for over 50 years and translated the works of Dante and Pablo Neruda. He also comes from the generation of some of America's most famous poets: James Merrill, Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Frank O'Hara, James Wright and John Ashbery. What was it like to work in that company? Steve Scher talked with W.S. Merwin in 2010 about the art of poetry.</p><p><strong>Life As An Underage Prostitute</strong></p><p></p><p>Have you heard of a "choosey Suzie" or a "wife-in-law?" Do you know what being "in pocket" is? Thousands of underage kids trapped in prostitution know all too well. Steve Scher talked with Joanna Ward, then a case manager at <a href="http://www.youthcare.org/">YouthCare’s</a> Orion Center, and heard first-hand stories of underage sex trafficking.</p><p>Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000weekday18668 at http://kuow.orgNicole: A Portrait Of A Seattle Sex Trafficking Survivorhttp://kuow.org/post/nicole-portrait-seattle-sex-trafficking-survivor
<div><p>Two and a half weeks ago the FBI, in partnership with local law enforcement, conducted a cross-country sweep looking to help stop child sex trafficking. They recovered dozens of under-age victims who have been forced into prostitution, and they arrested their pimps. Three child victims were found in Washington state, and nine people were arrested here.</p><p>On Tuesday,&nbsp; something very different happened at FBI offices in downtown Seattle.Wed, 14 Aug 2013 23:34:55 +0000Sara Lerner18598 at http://kuow.orgNicole: A Portrait Of A Seattle Sex Trafficking SurvivorFBI Sweep Includes Victims And Pimps In Seattle Areahttp://kuow.org/post/fbi-sweep-includes-victims-and-pimps-seattle-area
<p></p><p>Over the last several days the FBI, in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, conducted its seventh cross-country sweep looking to help stop child sex trafficking. The FBI worked with local police agencies, helped recover victims who have been forced into prostitution, and made arrests. About 50 different task forces participated.</p><p>Tue, 30 Jul 2013 20:06:28 +0000Sara Lerner17650 at http://kuow.orgMaurice Sendak: The Lost Interview, And Conclusion Of Trafficking Serieshttp://kuow.org/post/maurice-sendak-lost-interview-and-conclusion-trafficking-series
<p>Children's book author Maurice Sendak is a kind of father figure for many of us. He had a profound sympathy for children and never belittled their emotions. He daylit their anxieties and coaxed them into poetic form in books like <em>Where the Wild Things Are, In The Night Kitchen</em>, and <em>Outside Over There </em>(a book that frightens many adults).</p><p>In 2009, a pair of Newsweek reporters interviewed an 81-year-old Sendak. The result was a good <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/10/08/where-the-wild-things-are.html">article</a>. But the interview itself never aired, so we're playing it on KUOW today. There's an animated version, too:<br>&nbsp;</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvtgqJTVVhE</p><p><strong>Other Content:</strong></p><ul><li>Today, we concluded the WGBH series on Human Trafficking. Noel Gomez is a local activist trying to end sex trafficking here in Seattle. She's the founder of the Organization Of Prostitution Survivors. She told us two stories back in 2010:</li></ul><p><strong>Other stories on <em>KUOW Presents</em>, June 13:</strong>Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:33:10 +0000Joshua McNichols14893 at http://kuow.orgMaurice Sendak: The Lost Interview, And Conclusion Of Trafficking SeriesCatching Up With Our Human Trafficking Serieshttp://kuow.org/post/catching-our-human-trafficking-series
<p></p><p>Last week, we began running an outstanding series on human trafficking from WGBH called "<a href="http://www.wgbhnews.org/underground-trade-boston-bangkok">The Underground Trade</a>." We're halfway through, with more episodes scheduled through the week. If you've just tuned in, this is your chance to catch up.</p><p><strong>A System Of Modern Slavery That Touches All Points On The Globe</strong></p><p>Boston-based reporter Phillip Martin began with a police bust of a ring of massage parlors that offer more than massages. Many reporters would have stopped there. But Phillip started pulling on the "thread" of that story, and over his eight-part series, he's unraveled the whole sweater, tracing the route of human traffic all around the world to its roots in Southeast Asia.</p><p><strong>It's A Local Problem, Too</strong></p><p>Here in Seattle, we're adding local context to this story, capitalizing on the expertise of KUOW reporter Sara Lerner, who created <a href="http://www2.kuow.org/specials/humantrafficking.php">a similar series here on KUOW</a> a few years ago. This time around, Sara's reported on <a href="http://www.kuow.org/post/seattle-john-school-educates-men-who-pay-sex">Seattle's John School</a> and <a href="http://www.kuow.org/post/how-seattle-pimps-groom-girls-street">how pimps recruit women in the Puget Sound region.</a> From the youth reporters at KUOW's RadioActive, we heard from a local woman who was <a href="http://www.kuow.org/post/episode-37-human-trafficking-our-backyard">enslaved in Grays Harbor County</a>, and we ended our series with more reporting from Sara: a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kuow.org/post/myths-sex-trafficking-tom-doelger-and-radio-retrospective">discussion on&nbsp;KUOW's&nbsp;Weekday</a>&nbsp;about misconceptions surrounding child sex trafficking stats in the Puget Sound region.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Full list of stories from <em>KUOW Presents</em>, June 10:</strong>Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:50:36 +0000Producer14678 at http://kuow.orgCatching Up With Our Human Trafficking SeriesHow Seattle Pimps Groom Girls For The Streethttp://kuow.org/post/how-seattle-pimps-groom-girls-street
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.wgbhnews.org/post/human-trafficking-taken-china">radio piece</a>, WGBH’s Phillip Martin explored forced prostitution in East Asia. That’s a problem in the Puget Sound region, too.</p><p>Pimps here&nbsp;often prey on young girls who’ve run away from home.&nbsp;Detective Todd Novisedlak of the Seattle Police Department says that in some ways it’s similar to cases in Vietnam. He said traffickers here, too, prey on young girls’ susceptibility to fall in love.</p>Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:35:33 +0000Sara Lerner14631 at http://kuow.orgSeattle "John School" Educates Men Who Pay For Sexhttp://kuow.org/post/seattle-john-school-educates-men-who-pay-sex
<p>People take long flights to pay low prices for sex.&nbsp;In&nbsp;a <a href="http://www.wgbhnews.org/post/human-trafficking-business-trafficking">radio story</a> from WGBH, Phillip Martin explores the international sex tourism industry. Here in the Seattle area, Highway 99 hosts one main corridor where prostitution is easy to see.&nbsp;Hot spots dot the roadway, from Northgate to Sea-Tac.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of those prostitutes are also underage girls, forced by pimps to walk the streets. That's called child sex trafficking. Wed, 05 Jun 2013 01:20:06 +0000Sara Lerner14337 at http://kuow.orgWashington Settles Over Failed State Sex Trafficking Lawhttp://kuow.org/post/washington-settles-over-failed-state-sex-trafficking-law
<p>The state of Washington will not appeal a federal court decision to strike down a new state sex trafficking law. The law would have held online websites like Backpage.com accountable for illegal ads posted on their sites.</p><p>Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:57:34 +0000Sara Lerner4929 at http://kuow.org